Guerlain Terracotta

Guerlain’s Terracotta line arrives completely renewed this year, with reformulated lipglosses. You may already be familiar with the former glosses, in creamy golden and earthen tones with a high glitter factor. These had names like “Caramel Sun,” “Beige Sun” and “Pink Sun.” They are beautiful glosses, in their little clear cases and the golden-topped wands that look similar to the tops of the Terracotta Eye Kohls. KarlaSugar has swatched the former line here.

This year, Guerlain has reformulated the Terracotta glosses, giving them a new look. The former glosses have been pulled out of the stores, replaced with these smoother, silkier, and less glittery replacements. The new glosses are less sticky, feel lighter on the lip, and include moisturizers and antioxidants to condition lips exposed to the sun.

Also, Guerlain has added SPF 15 protection. The sparkle factor has been almost eliminated–there is a tiny microshimmer that is barely visible unless you look extremely close to the product. The almost metallic look of the former glosses has been replaced with a more natural, more sophisticated look.

Here is a look at the former packaging (left), compared to the new (right):

The gloss tubes no longer have the familiar gold tops. Rather, they have a new look, using a darker metal. When closing the new gloss, there is an audible “click” that assures you that the gloss has been definitively closed. I love this feature.

The most dramatic change is the texture of the gloss. Here is a comparison with two older glosses (left) and the new gloss (on the right, #4, Ambre). You can immediately see that glitter in the older ones is comparatively quite large and obvious. Ambre’s glitter is barely detectable; instead, you have more traditional, yet beautiful, deep warm rose that looks lovely when wearing bronzer and summer tones.

Here is an on-the-lip swatch of Guerlain’s #4 Ambre. The lips look very natural, without the metal/glitter of the former gloss:

Here is #4 Ambre:

My verdict– The new version is a welcome change. The earlier ones seemed appropriate when they were released. Just as fashion changes, so do makeup looks. The new gloss feels very silky and smooth on the lips, unlike the former ones which could feel a tad gritty. These feel very moisturizing. I like having the SPF protection and, let’s face it, the colors in this new release are gorgeous.

Guerlain’s Terracotta 2010 collection includes two Eyeshadow and Liners (Fard Metal Fard & Paupieres Liner) ($35 each) in 01 Gold Rush and 02 Smoky Metal, designed to look beautiful on summer skin. For the past few years, the Terracotta line has included eyeshadows in very creative formats–once an exotic looking shiny pot, another a loose powder pigment. I’ve used these unusually packaged products as staples all the way through winter. In the past, the eyeshadows have been neutrals with a shimmery kick.

2010 continues that tradition. These eyeshadow/ liners are a shimmery cream twist-up plastic-encased pencil and their texture is rich and beautiful. There is a very warm yellow-gold Gold Rush, and a shimmery brown Smoky Metal.

These apply with a sort of effortless buttery-ness–the texture is really lovely. The shimmer factor is high for a creme textured shadow and there are no obvious sparkly bits.

They are similar to MAC Shadesticks, but they work much better in my opinion. They are softer and provide a nice even color tone effortlessly.

The brown color goes on very softly–those with medium to dark skin tones may find that the color disappears into the lid, leaving just the sheen. If you are looking for a drama, look elsewhere or be ready to add the drama with your liner color (a liquid gold and deep chocolate brown–such as the Mystic Kohl– might be amazing). Smoky Metal is far less striking than the gorgeous Deep Metal powder eyeshadow sold two years ago. Likewise, it does not have the complexity of the Holy Smoke eyeshadow powder pigment released last year. Rather, it’s a softer shimmery, glowy brown that you can wear to a casual outing or put on easily without worrying about precision.

Gold Rush is a shimmer yellow, which will look nice on warmer medium to darker skin tones. Gold Rush is a medium-toned color, so my guess is that it will be too dark to use as a brow bone highlighter on many. I expect that lighter, cooler skin tones will find that Gold Rush clashes with your natural coloring so swatching before spending $35 is worth the trouble. I found that the colors worked well together by using Gold Rush as my inner corner color and Smoky Metal as my all-over lid shade. An ivory brownbone color finished off the look.

I wore these without a primer for a very long day, and did get some very minor creasing. I’ll have to update this later today, after I try this with a primer.